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Lee-Chin with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra and Daniele Gatti
Lee-Chin, Professor of Violin and Director
of Strings at College of Charleston
Praised by The Cleveland Plain Dealer, “Here was a lark that ascended with utmost grace and sang
in the in the loveliest of voices” and critically-acclaimed in The London Times, “Lee-Chin...teased out
the glitter of Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy with aplomb,” Lee-Chin has performed to critical acclaim
throughout the world, from Carnegie Hall to the Osaka Symphony Hall, Japan. Since winning the
Gold Medal at the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition and the 1994 Louise D.
McMahon International Music Competition for Strings, Lee-Chin has performed in over 20 countries
on five continents.
With appearances in the music capitals of Europe,
Australasia and the Americas, Lee-Chin has enjoyed
successful artistic collaborations with the Singapore
Symphony Orchestra and Lan Shui, Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra and Daniele Gatti, Malaysian Philharmonic
Orchestra and Kees Bakels, Dallas Symphony and the
late Eduardo Mata, Houston Symphony and Andreas Delfs.
In 2006, Lee-Chin premiered renowned American composer
Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with the national symphony
orchestras of the Ukraine in Kiev and Lviv.
Recent and upcoming engagements include the Erfurt
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, the
Charleston Symphony, the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra,
United Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna, the Avignon
Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Symphony, and the national symphony orchestras of Chile,
Mexico and Portugal.
She is a performer!
When in front of an audience
Lee-Chin's dedication and love for the music
becomes obvious and electrifies the audience.
- Felix Galimir
Lee-Chin has been a guest at some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues including Alice
Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Vienna KonzertHaus, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, Canada, Hong Kong City Hall, the Royal Albert Hall in London and Singapore’s Esplanade
Concert Hall. Solo appearances at international music festivals include the Banff Music Festival,
Lucerne International Music Festival, Ludwigsburger International Music Festival (Germany),
Cervantino Festival (Mexico), International Contemporary Music Festival “Contrasts” (Ukraine),
VIRTUOSI Festival, Recife (Brazil), and the Singapore Arts Festival. Her live performances have
been broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS Sunday Morning), National Public
Radio, Singapore Broadcasting Corporation and on the Voice of America.
A proud Singaporean, Lee-Chin has retained close ties with home while successfully establishing
an illustrious international career as a concert violinist and educator. In 1994, she was conferred the
Singapore Youth Award for Excellence in the Arts by the Prime Minister, and was honored with the
National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award in 1996. Most recently, in the fall of 2008, she was on
sabbatical as a visiting artist at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University
of Singapore.
Siow proved that she can take flight in a more fiery vein
in her solo encore, Ysaye's Sonata No. 6, whose bravura aspects
(multiple stops galore) she essayed with tasteful flair.
- The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Passionate and committed to teaching, Lee-Chin has
served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, given
masterclasses and outreach programs all over the world
including the National University of Singapore, the Lisbon
Academy of Music, the Chicago Institute of Music, the
University of Maryland, Ohio University and Spoleto Study
Abroad (Italy), among many others. Currently, Lee-Chin is
the Director of Strings and Professor of Violin at the College
of Charleston, South Carolina and co-founder and artistic
co-director of the Charleston Music Fest. Her private students have won the South Carolina Music
Teachers State competitions and soloed with the Charleston Symphony.
Lee-Chin began her violin studies under her father, Siow Hee-Shun. An alumni of the Curtis Institute
of Music, the Mannes College of Music, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, her teachers
included Roland and Almita Vamos, Felix Galimir, Jascha Brodsky and Aaron Rosand. Lee-Chin
has been performing on a J.B. Guadagnini, Milan c.1750, made possible through the Violin Loan
Scheme of the National Arts Council in Singapore.
MY BIOGRAPHY
© 2009 Siow Lee Chin
She knows how to seduce
listeners, drawing them into
her world with just a few
notes... This is artistry of the
highest level.
- Fanfare Magazine
